10 year old motor - Low hours

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Makrel
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10 year old motor - Low hours

Post by Makrel »

I am looking at 2 used boat options. One has twin 150 Suzuki's with 130 hours. The Other has 135 Honda's with 130 hours. Both sets of motors are 2006 models.

So both options have little use and should therefore have a long trouble free life ahead.

Or do they??? Could they offer good value or are they potential dogs??

Not sure what to look for in assessing these options short of having a survey of the boat.

Any advice on this scenario would be appreciated.


jabsy
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Re: 10 year old motor - Low hours

Post by jabsy »

Makrel wrote:Any advice on this scenario would be appreciated.
Personal opinion only, not supported by any facts at all.....

Forget the Hondas, buy the Suzukis. If anything, I'd be worried that the 150 hours would be more of an issue than say 500-1000 hours use in that time. Motors like to be used.

Be prepared for a service, maybe $500 parts and up to $500 labour per engine. Check the hoses in particular for perishing, put it on the computer and see if there have been any alarms. I have a computer for Suzuki but not Honda. Most dealers would have it too, so perhaps take it to one for an inspection. I've had it done at both Quality and Frenchys, both were good.
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Re: 10 year old motor - Low hours

Post by mickkk »

Service history, and which ever one has had the most recent use.

I purchased a boat with a 2007 115 yam, had 360 hrs. I about 50 hrs /6 months after I got it, it started playing up, took ages to work out what was wrong, ended up being the ecu. But I think I was a little unlucky.
As suggested expect a few big services in a row, as you find things that need attention. But both should go all right.
Are they local boats, if so find out where they have been serviced and ask them to let the company release what work has been done on it, shouldget a gut feeling if it was looked after or abused. Will be little more then a guess, but at lease it's somewhat an educated guess.
Makrel
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Re: 10 year old motor - Low hours

Post by Makrel »

Not local - boat is in Brisbane. I will get a mechanic down there to do a bit of a check which I guess is a diagnostics report?? i and a check of hoses etc as suggested by Jabsy.

will get it major serviced when I get it to Darwin - but that could be too late??

Guess I am just trying to get an idea of potential problems before I pull the trigger.
Quinntreximon
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Re: 10 year old motor - Low hours

Post by Quinntreximon »

As mentioned put them on the computer and get a report, add a physical inspection and make your decision. I also would go Suzuki. Motors down south dont get half as many hours on them in general as its not as far to go fishiing, and less days to go, generally speaking. Either way its a calculated gamble but if they seem well looked after they should be fine. Just do your research on each motor brand, but from experience Suzuki is the one.
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Re: 10 year old motor - Low hours

Post by jabsy »

Are you planning on flying down for a look yourself? I can lend you a computer to check the Suzukis if you need.
Makrel
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Re: 10 year old motor - Low hours

Post by Makrel »

Not sure if I will fly down - but thanks for the offer.

I may push them to get the motors serviced by Suzuki dealer as part of the sale contract price.
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Re: 10 year old motor - Low hours

Post by cuddlescooper »

Makrel wrote:Not sure if I will fly down - but thanks for the offer.

I may push them to get the motors serviced by Suzuki dealer as part of the sale contract price.
Old suzukis had trouble with water gallerys blocking and cracking the head due to a narrow passage. I would be worried about one that has sat around with no use as the scale build up woud be high especially if it wasnt looked after. Hondas were bad for corrosion around the head bolts and the frame so a good check over would be a must. As for the motor itself i have used a 2006 model 150 and has over 3500 hours with very few problems that i didnt cause (gear box). Only other thing is a slight lack of power out of the hole but that is the nature of motor from new in comparrison to otjer motors. Just a few things to think about. If you do a lot of blue water the suzis will probably be the go bit i would think twice about one if you chew mud in zrivers regularily.
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Re: 10 year old motor - Low hours

Post by jabsy »

Makrel wrote:Not sure if I will fly down - but thanks for the offer.

I may push them to get the motors serviced by Suzuki dealer as part of the sale contract price.
Make sure you get a copy of the computer printouts for each motor. It'll tell you the rev range it did most of its work in, as well as any alarms that have been tripped. You'd also expect the hours to be within an hour or so of each other, otherwise one has already been replaced/dropped an ECU...

As cuddles said, not much wrong with the 2006 models, I have the 175 myself. Only other bad thing I can think of is the fuel flow via NMEA is supposed to be a tad unreliable for accuracy. Haven't verified that myself.
Makrel
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Re: 10 year old motor - Low hours

Post by Makrel »

Update

I have narrowed my selection down to a boat running twin 150 Suzuki motors. 2007 models with 480 hours.

Motors are being serviced in Adelaide today and I have spoken to the mechanic who will report to me on findings and provide the diagnostic reports. They will also look at hydraulic steering and throttle control cables for me.

If all is good it will be mine.

Thanks for all your advice / opinions here. This site is a good resource
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